Ignition control



Oct. 12, 1948.' H. 'r. JARvls IGNITION CONTROL 2 ASheelzs-Sheei'Iv 1 Filed June 25, 1945 NRA ct. l2, 1948.

Filed June 25, 1945 H. T. JARvIs y IGNITION CONTROL v2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. vlia 71974371 Java/,s

jatented Oct. 12, 1948 IGNITION CONTROL Harold T. `Iarvis, Manchester, Conn., assgnor to United Aircraft Corporation, East Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application June 25, 1945, Serial No. 601,436

14 Claims. l

This invention relates to the control of ignition systems for engines, particularly aircraft engines. This application is a continuation-impart of co-pending Jarvis application Serial No. 481,114, filed March 30, 1943, now Patent No. 2,380,967, assigned to applicants assignee.

An object of this invention is to provide improved means for controlling the ignition timing system of an engine.

Another object is to provide means for regulating the operation of an automatic ignition timing system for engines in accordance with changes in combustion characteristics of the engine charge resulting from the operation of engine controls such as a mixture strength regulating device and a supercharger speed setting mechanism, or in accordance with changes in an engine operating condition such as charge inlet temperature or exhaust gas temperature.

A further object is to provide improvements in control devices for internal combustion aircraft engines.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the specification and claims and from the accompanying drawings which illustrate what is now considered to be a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a schematic view showing an ignition timing apparatus incorporating control devices constructed and arranged according to the teaching of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial front view of the auto-rich cut-out valve of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side View of the valve of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view along the lines 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing a modification in the arrangement of the thermostatic cut-out valve of Fig. 1.

The embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings is particularly adapted for use with aircraft engines having engine driven superchargers, preferably of the two-speed gear driven type, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such use.

According to this invention an automatic spark advance mechanism for an internal combustion engine may be controlled in a, simple and dependable manner in accordance with changes in engine operating conditions such as mixture strength, supercharger gear ratio, charge inlet temperature and exhaust gas temperature.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings, a radial aircraft engine having air-cooled cylinders, one of which is shown at II, is supplied with charging fluid (air or air and fuel) through induction pipes, one of which is shown at I6, by a main stage supercharger impeller I2 mounted in a supercharger or blower case, a portion of which is shown at I0. The impeller is splined at I3 to a shaft I5 driven in a known manner by the engine crankshaft I9 through a two-speed gear train or transmission diagrammatically shown at 2l, which may, for instance, be similar to those disclosed and claimed in Hobbs Patent No. 2,323,601, dated July 6, 1943 and in Hobbs-Willgoos application, Serial No. 492,423, filed June 26, 1943, now Patent No. 2,400,307, assigned to applicants assignee.

Intake air is supplied to the supercharger inlet or throat I 4 by va manifold 22 connected either directly to a scoop or ram positioned in the free -airstream owing over the aircraft or to the outlet of an auxiliary supercharger stage. The rate of ow by weight of intake air, and therefore engine power output, is controlled by throttle 24.

The engine fuel system includes a carburetor metering section 26 comprising a main venturi 30, auxiliary Venturi 30 and impact tubes 36, which cooperate to produce throat and scoop pressures in chambers 40 and 38, respectively. The pressure differential between the chambers varies with, and is a measure of, engine intake airflow.

These throat and scoop pressures, as corrected for variations in density by altitude compensator 32, are admitted to chambers 2l, 29 on opposite sides of air diaphragm 28. The resultant force exerted by the diaphragm on fuel flow regulating valve 52 is a function of the rate of flow by weight of intake air and urges the Valve toward open position.

Fuel is supplied to valve 52 by pump 46 from tank 42 through line 4l and strainer 50. A vapor trap including float valve 48 may be provided to eliminate gases from the liquid fuel, which is preferably gasoline.

Fuel in an amount controlled by Valve 52 flows through unmetered fuel chamber 54 and line 56 to the fuel control body or metering jet section 58. After being metered in control body 58, the fuel passes through the metered fuel line 68 to the fuel discharge valve |45 and then into the fuel spinner I 54 which sprays it into the air entering the vaned passages of impeller I2.

A fuel diaphragm 64 separates the unmetered fuel chamber 54 from a chamber 62, subjected by line to the metered fuel pressure on the downstream side `of the metering jets in the control 58. The resultant force exerted by this diaair diaphragms 64, 28 and fuel valve 52 act to maintain a pressure dropV across the metering jets between the unmetered and metered lines 56, 68 which is proportional to the compensated air pressure drop between the throat chamber 40 and the scoop chamber 38, thus regulating the rate of flow by Weight of fuel to the engine in predetermined ratio to the rate of ow by Weight of engine intake air, throughout the engine op-l erating range.

This fuel-air ratio may be Var'ifedjoycontrolling the jets in the fuel control bod-y' 58. The basic fuel-air ratio throughout the engine operating range is established by the main or cruise jet 66, which is continuously open. In addition to the now through this jet, fuel may also lowfrom theY unmetered jet chamber V|56 through the economiZer jet l'into the chamber l'fand-then through the auto-'rich jet: 'I6 into the metered jet cham# ber |57, when the auto-rich valve is open' as shown in' Fig. l'. Jet 'i8 has a greater restric-4 tion' than j'etl la. Therefore; assuming valve 80 to becl'osed', the mixture is enriched by an amount determined substantially by the size of jet 76 when Valve 'il is open.

It'v isi desirable under high engine power output conditions to provide .additional enrichment or higher mixture strengths vto prevent detonation, and for other purposes. This is accomplished by economizer valve 80 operated by diaphragm 8d subjected to metered fuel pressure through passage 85 and unmetered fuel pressure through line 86. `W'heri the fuel pressure drop becomes suincientlyhigh, valve 80 is'opened against the for e of spring 88 to provide additional fuel in an arnountde'termined by the value of the fuel presu sure drop, the rate of spring 88 and the contour of valve80, up to a maximum quantity determined by the size of economizer j'et "l0, Vwhich imposes a limit on the maximum now permitted ythrough bothvalve S6 and jet 16. Fuel'enrichment occurs regardless of whether or not the carburetor is in the autoerich position in which valve 'I7 is open, orV in the auto-leanposition in which valve l'l closes the'opening i9 and thereby shuts'oif the flow of fuel through jets '56;

dle Valve lz'si., linked in a known manner with scribedfuel control apparatus, reference is made r to Palmer application, Serial No. 529,104, led April 1,1944; 'assigned to applicants assignee.

The engine ignition system comprises m'agnetose llgl which supply ignition current at timed inten/als to 'spark plugs l'l of the engine cylin; ders il. yThe magnetos are driven from the 'engine crankshaft by gear trains including magneto drive gears |69, ||0 in a manner more fully disclosed in the Jarvis application referred to above and to` which reference is made for a more complete'discl'osure 'of the basic ignition system referred to herein. j For changing the timing of the magnetos, or the time 'at which ignition 'current is supplied to the spark'plugs withrespect to piston position, the magneto gear trains are each provided with 4iill.

bevel idler gears |04, |06, mounted on cages |08 rotatably supported on the magneto shafts |00, to which gears |08, ||0 are fixed. Cages |08 are connected by arms |34, |36 to a cross bar or link |32 attached to the piston |24 of a servo motor When pressure iluid such as oil is admitted to one or the other of cylinders |26,V |28 of the servo 4motor the piston |23 will'be reciprocated to move link |32 and retard or advance the ignition timing. A spring 38 Servo motor |0| is controlled by a spark advan'ce operating unit lll/i including a servo valve |532 having lands |610, |68 which control the admittance of oil under pressure from the supply lli-ne |52v tothe lines' |50, |60 respectively attached to cylinders |28, |26. Drains |50, |56 are provided for relieving pressure in one cylinder as pressure fluid is admitted to the other.

Valve |62 is actuated by'diaphragm' |'l2 subjected to' thev pressure diffe-rence bei'fvveen ll'uid lines H, |76, which are respectively connected. through restriction |98 to the blower outletzand through restriction -200t0 theA blower inlet; Thus the" chamber portion" |70 of the spark advance operating. unit is` divided by diaphragm V|712; into two fluid tight chambers connected tol blower throat and blower rim, Y

A spring |78 maintains valve ward or retard position,Y determined 'by therstop |53. When the force exerted by theyfluid presA sures on diaphragm |12- is sunicienttooverome' the force of spring |18,- vali/e162 is moved up' wardly to its advance position, determined by the abutment of the stop |65' against chamber 'Fil'.l.-V

According to this invention, igthasr been found desirable to maintain the spark Yretarded under certain engine operating conditions even though the supercharger pressure rise is sufficiently high to hold Valve |62 in its upper or advance position. For this purpose ley-pass valves |90, Y30|. 50| and 68| are provided. When any one of these-.valves is opened-'the effect is to bleed or by-pass air from the blower rim line lill to the-blower throat line llt. Restrictions |98, 200 are made of such value in relation to the siz'e of valves |90, 30|, 50| and 68| that the opening of any one of these valves will approximately equalize thev pressurerin lines H15, |16, thereby causing the pressures on opposite sides of the diaphragm in chamber |10, to become substantially equalizedand enabling springllS to maintain or return valve |62 to the retard-position. f Y

By-pass valve |90 of the spark advance control unit 202 is cont-rolledy by Aa fuelhead diaphragm |86 subjected to unmetered fuel pressure by line 24| and to metered fuelpressure by line 2|0. "Ih'us the force exerted by diaphragmv |86 on valve i90 is determined by the fuel pressure drop'which is in turn determined bythe rate of flowby weight of engine intake air; Consequentlydiaphragm |8 will open valve |90 against the'force of diaphragm spring V209 Vand, vvalve spring V201 when intake airflow (and engine power output) YreachesY a predetermined value. f

By-pass Valve ,30| in the high blower cut-Out 4300 is-opened or closed by a cam A205 on the selector Valve shaft 206111 the selector Valve |80. Shaft 206 is actuated byran operating handle 208 and controls the valve |80 so'asgto regulate the vapplication of pressure fluid 'through lines 2I3, 2 lr5-to speed ratio varying means vor gear shifting.mechanisml in the transmission 2|;to

thereby Vregulate the gear ratio, 'or the lspeed isz in its ydown-w for instance like that disclosed in the Hobbs patent or the Hobbs-Willgoos application referred to above. When impeller I2 is being driven by the engine in the high transmission ratio, the resultant temperature rise of the air passing through the supercharger is so great that it is desirable to maintain the spark in retarded position, in order to prevent detonation and for other reasons. When the blower is being driven in the low gear ratio this is not necessary. Therefore cut-out 300 is so arranged that when shaft 206 and handle 208 are in the low blower position (as shown by the full lines), in which the supercharger drive is placed in low speed ratio, valve 30| is maintained in closed position by the spring 302 and the spark advance unit |44 operates in its normal manner. But when shaft 206 is rotated to its alternative or high blower position (corresponding to the dotted line position of handle 208) in which the supercharger drive is placed in the high speed ratio, the cam 205 forces valve 30| to the left against the force of spring 302, establishing a bleed between the rim and throat lines |14, |16 by way of passages 304, 306. Thus when valve shaft 206 and handle 208 are in the high impeller ratio position, valve 30| will be opened and the operating unit |44 will be maintained in the spark retard position regardless of the value of the supercharger pressure rise.

By-pass valve 50| in the mixture control 500 (best shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4) is actuated by handle 502. When the handle is moved to change the mixture setting of the carburetor, shaft 5|4, xed thereto, is rotated to angular-ly adjust yoke 503 (Fig. 1) connected to valve lever 505, thereby shifting valve 11 to close or open the port 10. Movement of shaft 5|4 also angularly shifts a cam 5 l 6, keyed to the shaft, to close or open bleed valve 50| against the force of spring 501 by means of bell crank 508, fulcrumed at 5|0. A spring 500 may be provided to hold the bell crank in contact with the cam. The levers and cam are so arranged that whenever handle 502 is in the auto-rich position valves 11 and 50| are both open and when the handle is in auto-lean position valves 11 and 50| are both closed. A bleed or by-pass is established between lines |14, 16 through pipes 504, 506 when valve 50| is open.

By-pass valve 50| in the thermostatic cut-out 600 is operated in response to variations in the temperature of the engine charge after it has been compressed by the supercharger. A small amount of charging fluid is continuously circulated through the chamber 603 of the valve unit 600 by conduits 420, 422. These conduits contain restrictions 424, 426 for limiting such flow to a low rate, sufficient merely to maintain the temperature in chamber 603 approximately the same as the temperature of the charging fluid at the blower rim. A thermostatic strip or dise 602 (preferably of the snap acting type) is exposed to the fluid passing through chamber 603 and is connected to the valve 60|I so as to lift the valve and open a by-pass between the lines |14, |16 by way of passages 604, 606 at a predetermined value of the temperature of the fluid in chamber 603. Valve 60| is held closed by the inherent resiliency of the bimetallic element 602 when the temperature in chamber 603 is below said predetermined value. The valve unit 600 therefore operates to equalize the pressures in lines |14, |16 to insure retarded spark position whenever the engine charge temperature exceeds a predetermined value. For charge temperatures below such predetermined value, by-pass valve 60| will be closed and the operation of the spark advance mechanism will not be affected by the thermostatic unit 600.

Fig. 5 shows a modiiication in the arrangement of thermostatic-cut-out 600. In this figure the chamber 603 and thermostatic element 602 may be subjected to exhaust gas temperature by conduit 42| connected to an engine cylinder exhaust pipe 429, when valves 425, 421 are in the position shown. The exhaust gas passing through chamber 603 may be bled to atmosphere by conduit 423. The valve unit will then be responsive to engine exhaust gas temperature and will equalize the pressures in lines |14, |16 when this temperature exceeds a predetermined value. If desired, the cut-out 600 may be connected with two Way valves, as shown in Fig. 5, which may be rotated to connect the chamber 603 alternatively to either the exhaust pipe 420 and atmosphere or to the supercharger rim and throat lines 420, 422.

Operation The spark advance operating unit |44 will be actuated by the pressure rise across the supercharger to advance the ignition timing at a predetermined value of the pressure rise. Because the pressure rise varies with intake airow (and engine power output) this advance in ignition timing may be made to occur when the engine power output enters the cruising power range, thereby providing retarded spark for idling conditions and advanced spark for cruising conditions.

As engine power output is further increased valve in the cut-outr202 is opened at a predetermined rate of intake airflow to provide retarded spark under high power output conditionsj for power outputs above the cruising range.

Regardless of the value of the supercharger pressure rise, or the position of airflow cut-outy valve |90, the rich mixture cut-out 500 will maintain the spark in retarded position whenever the engine is operated under auto-rich mixture conditions, with relatively high fuel-air ratios.

' Similarly, the cut-out 300 will insure retarded spark whenever impeller I2 is being driven in high transmission ratio, at relatively high speed relative to the speed of the engine crankshaft;l and the cut-out 600 will insure retarded spark whenever the charge inlet temperature (or exhaust gas temperature) exceeds a predetermined value.

An advantage of the high blower cut-out 300 is- A similar advantage is provided by the temperature cut-out 600; when the charge temperature is suciently low, spark advanced operation may be extended by the control 202 to relatively high powers, yet when the charge temperature is too high, the spark is automatically retarded,

The rich mixture or auto-rich setting of valve 500 is particularly suitable for operation in takeoff or climb or under unfavorable cooling condi- 

